Private School Parents Making Public Education Policy: Controversy with Trey Martinez Fischer and Diana Arévalo

When you’re making policy about public education, does it matter whether you send your own kids to public schools or private schools? I’d sure like to know, but I also want to look at voting records and other data about candidates’ positions.

After Martinez Fischer touted his efforts to restore public-education funding that had been slashed by Republicans in the Legislature, Arévalo suggested that Martinez Fischer was hypocritical because he sends his two young daughters to private, not public, elementary schools.

Later, Martinez Fischer posted a response on his campaign Facebook page: “I am open to criticism at anytime, and anyplace, but my children are off limits as all children should be during a campaign.”

Garcia offered a balanced commentary, but I want to take a closer look. I am of two minds on this topic, so I will go ahead and argue both sides with myself.

Yes, It Matters Where a Candidate’s Kids Go to School

It’s a nice idea that we can be perfectly objective about policy arguments, without any bias from our personal experiences. But that’s not how the world really works, is it? We see the world through the lens of our own stories and the experiences of our circle of friends.

“It does strike me as a tad hypocritical to be a public school advocate while simultaneously sending your own kids to private school. I’d be having mega cognitive dissonance,” wrote Cristina Noriega, a parent with two daughters in San Antonio ISD. Noriega held up Julian Castro as an example of a political leader who does enroll his children in public schools.

If Martinez Fischer doesn’t have children in the public school system, then what are his sources of information about public education in his district? He is a graduate of public schools (specifically, Holmes High School in Northside ISD), but times change, and the current generation of students has new challenges.

What is the quality of traditional public schools in District 116? The district follows I-10 from near downtown to northwest San Antonio near Loop 1604. Here is a snapshot of several schools in District 116, with accountability data:

As you can see from the accountability ratings, there is high variability in the quality of public schools in District 116. Some, like Brandeis, are highly rated, while others may be close to a charter school conversion. If Martinez Fischer chooses to send his children to private school, he should take other actions, such as touring public schools (including public charter schools) and talking with public school parents, to get informed about what’s really going on in schools that are a world apart from his daughters’ private school.

The same standard should apply to Arévalo. She raised the issue of sending one’s kids to public school, while she herself is a graduate of private Catholic schools. Should a Catholic school education only be available to families who can afford tuition or qualify for a scholarship? She should also explain to voters what she is doing to get information about the quality of public schools in her district.

Knowing where a candidates’ children go to school, and where the candidates themselves went to school when they were growing up, helps voters know what perspective they are coming from. As one of my friends commented, “They need to have a published list for politicians . . . who send their kids to public vs. private!” That would be interesting reading.

No, It Doesn’t Matter Where a Candidate’s Kids Go to School

On the other hand, we don’t know the details of Martinez Fischer’s family situation. Is it really any of our business?

For more than a year, I was homeschooling my son, F.T., while working as an advocate for charter schools. (In my defense, for part of that time, F.T. was on a charter school waiting list.) Does that make me a hypocrite? I was doing the best I could for my family with the resources available to me. My son receives special education services; in theory, all public schools should offer him the services he needs, but as a practical matter some schools just can’t accommodate him.

Rather than focusing on where they send their kids to school, perhaps it would be more meaningful to judge the candidates based on their voting records. It’s not possible to make direct comparisons on particular votes because they did not serve in the legislature at the same time, but we can make inferences from key votes during their respective tenures.

Ultimately, we have to trust parents that they know what is best for their children. If Martinez Fischer has enrolled his children in private school, then I trust that he is making the best choice their for their future. But do Arévalo and Martinez Fischer trust the parents who live in District 116 to make decisions about their own children’s education? Parents need to speak up and get their message across to these candidates.